Anderson cashes in with big IPL contract

Cricketer Corey Anderson has hit the big time, with an $870,000 contract to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) competition.

The 23-year-old all-rounder – a Cantabrian who now plays for Northern Districts – was tipped for a big IPL contract, after a summer in which he hit the quickest one day international century and followed that up with two useful performances against the touring Indians.

According to website Cricinfo’s coverage of the IPL auction, bidding for Anderson – late in the auction, when many franchises had spent much of their money on overseas players – came from Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils.

The Mumbai Indians – coached by former New Zealand player and coach John Wright – snared Anderson for 45 million rupees, or $NZ870,000 – more than captain Brendon McCullum price of $630,000, paid by the Stephen Fleming-coached Chennai Super Kings.

That means in little over a year, Anderson has been transformed from a domestic player earning about $50,000 a year to an international star, earning almost $1.5 million.